Vice President Rick Perry

[Mister Mets]

From George Tee's New Republic Piece Rick Perry's Texas...

August 22 is a day that is quite important to Rick Perry's legacy.

It was on August 22 1989 that he declared that, contrary to rumors in the community where he served as state representative, he would not leave the Democratic party and join the Republicans. Speaking with local radio host Roger Night, Perry promised to continue serving his constituents as long as he is able and declared his support for State Treasurer Ann Richards for Governor. "I'm proud to be a Democrat," said Perry "It's the party with the solutions for the problems of the working man. It's a party that's been very good to me and my family."

That was the last time there was serious discussion about Rick Perry leaving the Democratic party. It's interesting to imagine what could have happened otherwise. Maybe Perry would have had an easier time getting to prominent office, and he would have a long career as Congressman, or Mayor, or perhaps something higher. Or he might have faded into obscurity like the hundreds of local politicians who never rise beyond the lowest rung.

It was on an August 22nd nineteen years later that a more important event occurred for Rick Perry's political career, as Senator Barack Obama announced his nominee for Vice President...

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Interesting....

[Ebsy]

Intriguing...

[AelroseB]

Enthralling...

[retromike22]

Disturbing...

[Bakersfield Uber Alles]

Promising...

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

Forgetting...

[Enderman]

Confusing... also, way to play along Clinton : P

[NeverAgain]

Abdicating...

[Mister Mets]

In 1990, Rick Perry is a useful surrogate for Ann Richards, speaking often at various campaign events. He seemed to have two goals: to get his name out there, and to ingratiate himself with the various party bosses.

The 1990 election went well for Democrats. Perry was reelected to his state house district. Ann Richards became Governor. John Sharp, member of the Railroad Commission, was elected Comptroller of Public Accounts.

The rumor is that Rick Perry was not Ann Richards' top choice to replace Sharp. She wanted someone more diverse, like state represenatative Lena Guerrero, for a commission that had previously consisted entirely of white men. Shortly before the announcement became official, it was published in the Austin Chronicle that Guerrero had lied about graduating from UT-Austin. Her political career survived, and she remained in local office. However, the mid-term vacancy went to her coworker from the Texas State Legislature, Rick Perry.

There have been some rumors that Perry, or someone advocating on his behalf, was responsible for
leaking the information about Guerrero. Perry did not help matters when he denied any involvement in a 1996 interview, but also made the point that it would have come out anyway, maybe in the General Election.

Rick Perry spent 1991 as an unofficial surrogate for the nonexistent campaign of Lloyd Bentsen. When Bill Clinton became the Democratic nominee, Perry would write an Op-Ed for the Austin Chroncile about how Ann Richards would be a fine choice for Vice President.

He was elected to a full term in the railroad commission, defeating Republican Barry Williamson. When Lloyd Bentsen was appointed Secretary of Commerce in the Clinton administration, Perry's name was one of the top choices for the appointment to replace him. Ann Richards went with Bob Kreueger, a former representative who served with Perry on the railroad commission and had sought the office in 1978. Kreuger would go on to lose the ensuing special election by a two to one margin to Kay Bailey Hutchinson.

At around this time, Perry and his family quietly moved to Suburban Dallas.

In 1995, when Congressman John Wiley Bryant of the fifth District, decided to run for Senate, Perry announced that he would run to replace him in the House. His three years living in Dallas paid off.

Perry faced Republican Pete Sessions, who had narrowly lost to Bryant in 1996. In a better year for Democrats, Perry won with a comfortable 51-47 margin. His path to power would take him to Washington.

[RedPrometheus]

This sounds quite interesting

[Mister Mets]

Some wags would suggest that Rick Perry's tenure in Congress was unimpressive. "Is there any bill that was different in any way as a result of Rick Perry being in the House of Representatives?" asked Daily Kos blogger/ Dallas area activist Sara Donovan "I've done an absurd amount of reading into this, and I haven't been able to find anything."

Even Rick Perry's strongest critics will concede that that he handled the constituent services part of his duties well, and quickly became an in-demand surrogate for the Democratic party with the media. "Whenever they needed a Cowboy to give Democratic party talking points, Rick Perry was their guy" wrote the National Review's Nisarg Amin "It started with the impeachment of Bill Clinton, but it became more significant in his second term as George W Bush's profile had increased."

The Republican party was on the rise in Texas. Perry survived reelection by the same 51-47 margin. George W Bush was reelected Governor in a landslide. The party bosses had let him know that they would prefer not losing the Governorship of Texas should he enter the White House, so he campaigned vigorously with Barry Williamson, the party's nominee for Lieutenant Governor. It hadn't escaped Perry's notice that Williamson, a man he beat in 1992, was closer to the Governorship than he was.

Perry once again had an opportunity to be a surrogate for Al Gore during the 2000 campaign, and did his part as the Texas campaign chairman. "I don't think Rick Perry wanted anything from it," said Gore Campaign manager Donna Brazile "He recognized that he was a second term Congressman, so he was not going to be offered the Vice-Presidency. He wasn't aiming for any cabinet post. He wasn't a lawyer or a diplomat, so other potential prizes weren't available. He just felt strongly that Al Gore would be the best President."

In a 2000 appearance on Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, Perry received a compliment that would stick with him with the rest of his career "You're the man George W Bush pretends to be." To that, Perry replied "God, I hope I'm smarter than that."

[The Other Castro]

Rick Perry seems like a pretty cool dude in this TL, please continue.

[Mister Mets]

Following the election of George W Bush to the White House, it had been observed that Rick Perry became somewhat more cautious criticizing national Republicans. "The one thing Perry did well was attack Republicans," said Donovan "But after Bush stole the election, you didn't hear a peep from Perry about Washington. Hell, he was a co-sponsor of No Child Left Behind."

Perry quickly became an outspoken critic of Acting Governor Barry Williamson. There was an obvious strategy to it. Perry knew the history. He looked at the midterm elections of 1978, 1982, and 1994, and determined that 2002 could be the best year for the Democratic party in over a decade. Of the big state Governors, Barry Williamson was probably the least talented, and the most vulnerable. George W Bush might be personally popular in Texas, so it was not worth antagonizing the swing voters, the conservatives and moderates who voted for a Bush in the national office, but supported Rick Perry for state office.

By March, Rick Perry was openly hinting that he might run for Governor, and party bosses desperate for a strong candidate werre enthusiastic. By May, he had made it official, becoming the obvious frontrunner for the Democratic party's nomination. A poll commissioned on the weekend of September 7-9 found the race a toss-up with Perry and Willaimson both at 42 percent.

Then September 11 happened. George W Bush's approval rating exceeded 90 percent. Perry became the frontrunner for a nomination that wasn't worth all that much.

Perry tried his best, squaring the circle of being a Washington insider-even if only in his third term in the House-criticizing a man whose entire political career had occurred within Texas. His primary victory over Tony Sanchez was surprisingly narrow (510,481 votes to 475,612) even with Perry's endorsement from the former Attorney General Dan Morales, the Democratic party's candidate for Lieutenant Governor.

The people who want to justify Rick Perry's loss will mention that 2002 was a great year for Congressional Republicans, with gains for the party in the House and the Senate. However, it was a different story in the Governor's races as Democrats picked up a net of three seats, including in states like Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico, Tennessee and Wyoming. But not in Texas, where Perry lost by a ten point margin to a man he had beaten by a larger margin ten years earlier.

For the first time in eighteen years, he wasn't holding elected office.

[KingSweden]

I'm liking this so far, very interesting. I'll be curious how Perry recovers from '02 to be running-mate material, though.

[Mister Mets]

Rick Perry greets Republican opponent Lt. Governor David Dewhurst prior to the dueling speeches event at the Houston Military Library.

Perry spent the next few years padding his coffers, taking roles on several boards, and serving as Congressional Liason to the New Energy Corporation. There were small mentions of him as a potential candidate for President, with Michael Moore suggesting that what earned a respectable showing in Texas would be enough to win in Florida. He endorsed Dick Gephardt, although he had a relatively quiet role in that campaign, mostly introducing his former boss to various Texas fundraisers. He would repeat the process with John Kerry. Kerry's campaign will confirm that Perry made the long list of John Kerry's potential running mates, and was briefly vetted. He did not make the cutoff for the shortlist with Bayh, Nunn, Gephardt and Edwards.

Perry had been interested in reentering the political arena, but concerned that statewide office was no longer an option for Democrats. His former House seat had gone to the Republicans, and while he thought he might be able to win it back, now that he was in his mid-fifties, he didn't believe he had the patience necessary to build up the seniority it takes to be significant in the House of Represenatives. He had been involved in local events for the party in Dallas, leading to speculation that he was interested in running for Mayor.

The Bush administration's disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina convinced Perry that he should give Texas another shot. Barry Williamson's announcement that he would not run for reelection, as Texans know that Governors should be replaced often, seemed to leave that race wide open.

Then Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson announced that she would seek the office, essentially becoming Governor-in-waiting. It didn't take Perry long to announce that he would run for the Senate instead. Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst overcame primary challenges from Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, Dallas businessman Tom Lepert and State Senator Tom Shapiro, kicking off what would become the most expensive Senate race yet (a record that wasn't beaten until the 2012 Massachusetts election.)

The lure of meeting Texas fundraisers brought potential presidential candidates to campaign for both sides. Some blamed Senator George Allen's close call in his 2006 reelection bid on the perception that he preferred national fundraisers to his constituents. Dewhurst's shortcomings as a candidate energized Democratic activists and encouraged desperate Republicans to spend more money, a total of $74 million.

Perry won by three points, the essential man in helping Democrats win a razor-thin majority. For a guy who had been relatively quiet about George W Bush throughout the campaign, he was certainly willing to declare in his victory speech that the people of Texas had rejected the policies of George W Bush. He had his eyes on bigger prizes.

[Mister Mets]

Rick Perry at the Vice-Presidential debate with Mitt Romney

Perry quickly established him as a rising star of the Democratic party. In a December 2006 bit on the Daily Show, he was asked to prove that a guy with a Texan accent can say reasonable things by reading from a list of statements like "Climate change is real" "Women should be paid as much as men" and "The Bush administration has no strategy for Iraq."

His response to the state of the union was well-received, and with the help of Chief of Staff Paul Reagan, he quickly introduced legislation to expand benefits for military families. With Barack Obama running for President, Perry arguably had the highest profile of any new Senator with regular attendance.

Perry expanded his criticism of the Bush White House to include the Republican frontrunners, Senators McCain and Allen. While the Clinton campaign sought his endorsement, Perry was advised by the party leadership that she wasn't as inevitable as she seemed, and that it was worth waiting until the presidential primary had developed. After Obama's Jefferson-Jackson day speech, Perry announced his support, campaigning for Obama in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He also received much of the credit when Obama eked out a narrow in the popular vote in the Texas primary.

When it came time for Obama to pick a running mate, the finalists were Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Tim Kaine and Rick Perry. Perry's background was seen as a nice complement with President Obama. His record doesn't overshadow the President, but a cowboy pushing sixty with eight years in Congress, and more time in statewide office in Texas isn't going to seem too green. It fit the change theme, and also suggested that even the guys who sound like George W Bush are fed up with his policies. Texas law also meant that there would be some time before Republicans can replace his seat in a special election, a small advantage over Kaine and Bayh, who would both have immediately been replaced by Republicans.



Republican complaints initially focused on the qualifications. "This is the least experienced ticket in American history," argued Karl Rove "These guys will have barely served a term in the Senate, combined." There was a brief scandal over a racially charged nickname for Rick Perry's family hunting ground, although that was just a quickly forgotten part of the 24 Hour news cycle.

Following the financial collapse, the McCain campaign elevated the role of running mate Mitt Romney, claiming that his financial expertise would help the country recover. In the Vice Presidential debate, Romney was the one with the major gaffe, offering to bet Perry ten thousand dollars over a disputed fact. "How many hours pay is that for you?" asked Perry. The next day, Rush Limbaugh claimed that Romney didn't do too bad, but that McCain should have picked RNC Keynote speaker Sarah Palin.

Polls consistently showed Obama ahead 3-7 points, so the outcome of the election wasn't a tremendous surprise.

Obama/ Perry- 353 Electoral Votes
McCain/ Romney- 185 Electoral Votes

Obama would try to placate his former rivals with cabinet posts. Joe Biden became Secretary of State. Bill Richardson was offered Secretary of Commerce, but had to withdraw his nomination due to a grand jury investigations. And Hillary Clinton was offered Secretary of Defense

[RodPresident]

Elementar problem behind this thread... Perry replacement as senator would be named by KBH and Democrats would need his seat.
Suggestion: Perry not running for Governor in 2002, becoming Majority Leader after Gephardt and Speaker in 2006.

[Mister Mets]

Elementar problem behind this thread... Perry replacement as senator would be named by KBH and Democrats would need his seat.
Suggestion: Perry not running for Governor in 2002, becoming Majority Leader after Gephardt and Speaker in 2006.

Two counterpoints.

First, from a cursory examination, Texas law seems to allow the vacancy to be settled by a special election, rather than a gubernatorial appointment.

http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vacancies-in-the-united-states-senate.aspx

This election would clearly favor Republicans, and it wouldn't be unprecedented for state legislatures to change election laws, as Massachusetts did when Ted Kennedy died.

Second, winning a presidential election is considered much more important than keeping a Senate seat. I haven't seen any election in which a running mate wasn't selected because the party was afraid of losing his office. Evan Bayh was on Obama's shortlist, even though Indiana's Republican Governor would have been able to pick his replacement. Tim Kaine was also on Obama's shortlist, even though Virginia had a Republican Lieutenant Governor. The selection of Biden came to experience and balance, rather than what it meant for Delaware.

Lieberman was Gore's running mate, even though his election would have necessitated a special election at a time when every seat mattered (Republicans held a narrowish majority after the 1998 senate races, and the 2000 election would have the class of 1994 defending their seats.) Texan Senator Lloyd Bentsen had been Dukakis's running mate in 1988.

[Mister Mets]

With Obama in the White House, and offering a cabinet post, Hillary Clinton had several options. She could take Obama's offer, and be the first female Secretary of Defense, serving under the man who had defeated her. She could stay in the Senate, where she would have a high profile, but where it was also clear that many of the other Senators were eager to kick her out. She could run for Governor, and burnish her resume that way. Or she could just retire.

She called Obama to inform him that she would remain in the Senate, and that she felt that she could help his agenda the most from there. As a result, Bob Gates, George W Bush's Secretary of Defense ended up serving another two and a half years in the office.

In the Senate, Hillary Clinton did her best to shepherd through Obama's health care reform legislation. Democrats had 58 seats after the 2008 elections, but not a filibuster proof sixty. The Texas legislature quickly changed the state regulations on to allow Kay Bailey Hutchinson to apppoint an interim Senator until the special election. She selected former congressman Larry Combest, a relatively non-controversial choice, but which quickly added one more Republican to the Senate.

The initial plan for Democrats was to release one omnibus health care fix, but moderate Republicans let it be known that they would not be able to support it. The decision was then made to split the bill into seven sections, so that some of the portions could pass with bipartisan support. However, few Republicans ended up supporting even that, which left the White House wary of the final portion, the so-called Affordable Care Act, that included the most controversial provisions.

The death of Ted Kennedy weakened the White House's hand. Democrats in the Massachusetts legislature quickly created a new law to allow Governor Deval Patrick to appoint an interim Senator, modeling this after the Texas legislature's decisions. Attorney General Martha Coakley would later win in her own right, although the narrow loss of Republcian legislator Scott Brown suggested a potential resurgence for the party.

The 2009 elections did not go well for Democrats, with Republicans taking back governorships of Virginia and New Jersey, in addition to the special election in Texas which went to Solicitor General Ted Cruz, an outspoken Repbulican who quickly became the face of the Tea Party.

But the Democrats had a Plan B. Vice President Rick Perry had kept a relatively low profile in his first year, but had been trying to woo prominent Republican moderates into the party. Early 2010, Arlen Spector of Pennsylvania announced that he would leave the Republican party, soon followed by Olympia Snowe of Maine. With a filibuster proof sixty seats, Demcorats were able to pass the Affordable Care Act. Snowe's decision was surpsing, especially since she would retire from the Senate three years later. "Ted Cruz had really rubbed her the wrong way," says a former staff "She saw him as the future of the Republican party, and that terrifed her."

In 2010, the Republicans took back the House, a few governorships and several key senate seats. Scott Brown was elected Governor of Massachusetts. 70 year old Representative Mike Castle defeated Attorney General Beau Biden, son of the Secretary of State. Although Democrats kept the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid lost to former State Senator Joe Heck. A rare bright spot was the narrow reelection of Arlen Specter, now a loyal Democrat.

At that point, the Republican presidential field was starting to develop. Vice Presidential nominee Mitt Romney had spent the last years as a prominent critic of Obama. Sarah Palin, who just completed her one term as Governor of Alaska, was becoming a prominent critic of politics in the continental United States. Initially called the Michelle Bachmann of the north, she quickly developed her own identity.

There would be one more Republican in the top tier. Chris Christie, the Governor of New Jersey selected as the head of the Republican Governors Association in his second year in the office, saw an opening big enough even for him.